(Reuters) – The morale of German entrepreneurs improved very slightly in February, shows a survey published Thursday by the Ifo institute.
The business climate index stood at 85.5, in line with the Reuters consensus and up slightly from February’s reading of 85.2.
The increase is due to slightly less pessimistic expectations, with the component measuring the change in business leaders’ expectations rising from 83.5 in January to 84.1 in February, largely in line with forecasts of 84.
The component of business leaders’ judgment on their current business conditions remains stable at 86.9, the January reading having been revised downwards.
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“The German economy is stabilizing at a low level,” said Clemens Fuest, president of Ifo.
Europe’s largest economy contracted by 0.3% in 2023.
Germany is expected to enter a new technical recession in the first quarter of 2024 after falling 0.3% in the final quarter of last year, the Federal Statistics Office confirmed on Friday.
(Reporting Miranda Murray, French version Diana Mandiá, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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